


Lucky in Love

by zebraljb



Series: Hershey Kisses [22]
Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 05:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17933993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zebraljb/pseuds/zebraljb
Summary: PROMPT - One person kissing the top of the other person's head.Harry thinks about how lucky he is after losing an agent.





	Lucky in Love

LUCKY IN LOVE

“Well. That is my least favorite part of this job.” Harry hangs his coat up on its hook and puts his hand out for Merlin’s.

“Aye,” Merlin murmurs. He gives Harry his coat. “I’m going to…”

“Work. I know. I’ll order dinner…I don’t feel like cooking.”

“I understand.” Merlin sighs. “Ye did an excellent job today, Arthur.”

“I buried an agent today. I don’t exactly feel proud of myself, but thank you.” 

“Come get me when dinner arrives.” Merlin gives him a tiny smile and plods down the hall to his office, his shoulders slumped like he’s carrying the weight of the world. His artificial legs whir and purr as he ambles away from Harry. 

Harry understands the feeling. He removes his coat and carefully folds it over the back of the sofa in his small study. He pours himself a drink and holds up the glass. “To Lamorak,” he whispers. “You were brave, you were handsome, you were loyal. You were a knight unto the end, and may Heaven welcome you with open arms.” He downs the drink and pours another before sitting at his desk.

Merlin feels guilty. Harry feels guilty. Eggsy feels guilty. In the end, however, it was no one’s fault but the evil mastermind running the shitshow at the warehouse. Merlin’s intel was faulty, given to him by another government agency who hadn’t bothered to check their facts. Merlin’s only error was trusting them. Harry had trusted them as well, a mistake he will regret to his dying day. Eggsy was on the mission with Lamorak, taking the flank position as Lamorak went into the warehouse to find the office. He didn’t come out.

Eggsy was currently in Medical with burns on his arms and face and a sprained ankle. He was absolutely livid that Harry, as Arthur, would not permit him to leave Medical to come to the service for Lamorak. They’d finally sedated him under Harry’s orders; he was sure he’d get an earful once Eggsy came to. Harry and Merlin both told Eggsy it wasn’t his fault, but he was beside himself. He should have gone with Lamorak. He should have looked around more. So many should haves and could haves.

Harry thinks about Lamorak for a long moment. A man a bit younger than Merlin and himself, no wife, no children, no family except a sister who thought he was a tailor. He’d given his life to Kingsman, dying in the field at the age of fifty-five. His sister would mourn him, thinking he’d died in an automobile accident. No one would know the sacrifice he’d made. No one would be able to stand over his grave, his true grave, and mourn him…other than Kingsman employees. 

Harry swirls the whiskey in his glass and stares at it. He was Lamorak, just a few years before. He’d given Kingsman his life. For the first few years he had lovers, not boyfriends. Bed partners, not life partners. And then he’d taken a beating in Istanbul, bad enough that he’d been unconscious for three days. When he awakened Merlin was there by his bedside, holding his hand and staring down at him…and he realized Merlin was not only his best friend, but so much more. That was twenty-five years ago. He’d figured that Merlin was the only stroke of luck he would ever have. He would more than likely die in the field…more than likely right in front of his dearest love. But he didn’t. Somehow he survived. He survived, and then he found the perfect person to add to his little family, a beautiful chav who swore like a sailor, swaggered like a superstar, and loved Harry like a second father. Harry wasn’t sure who he’d pleased in a previous life, but apparently he was reaping the rewards now. Lamorak had died alone, unloved. Harry never would.

He slowly finishes his drink and stands up. He takes the glass to the kitchen to wash it and calls in their dinner order. He then goes upstairs and changes clothes, leaving Arthur in the closet and slowly becoming Harry again. He reaches for one of his cardigans and changes his mind, instead going to Merlin’s side of the wardrobe and pulling out a worn grey jumper. He pulls it on and inhales the scent he loves most in the world. He then removes his eyepatch and places it on his nightstand before going back downstairs.

Merlin’s hard at work in his office, two computers open and a pen between his teeth. Harry’s not offended that Merlin has chosen to bury himself in his work on this particular night. Work is how he copes. He lost Lamorak, but he can work and save Kay or Lancelot or Tristan. As long as Merlin eats and eventually sleeps, Harry won’t say anything. Harry leans in the doorway and looks at him. There are a few wrinkles around his eyes, a bit of sag to the skin at his throat, but otherwise Merlin does not look his age. His eyes are still the clear intelligent hazel that drew Harry in the first moment he met him, his hands are still strong and smooth. He is absolutely the smartest man Harry has ever met, and Kingsman is lucky to have him. Harry is lucky to have him.

“Dinner here?” Merlin asks around his pen.

“Not yet. Just called it in.”

“Mmm.” Merlin slaps at his keyboard. “Jesus, that’s not right.”

Harry slowly smiles. Merlin at his most irritated is Merlin at his most attractive, in Harry’s opinion. He slowly walks over, pauses by Merlin’s desk, and then gently cradles Merlin’s head in his hands. Merlin freezes. Harry bends his head and plants a very soft kiss on the top of Merlin’s bald head. “Merlin,” he whispers.

“I am nae complaining, but what was that for?” Merlin looks up and does a double-take. “And why are ye wearing my jumper.”

“I wanted to.” 

Merlin eyes him suspiciously. “Random tender kisses, wearing my clothes…I know it’s nae my birthday, or our anniversary.”

“Can’t I just…enjoy you?”

“Hmmm.” Merlin leans back in his chair as Harry sits on the edge of the desk. “Does this soft side of Harry Hart have anything to do with Lamorak?”

“Yes. And no.” Harry studies his hands before looking up at Merlin. His eye is wet with tears. “I just realized, Merlin, how lucky I am. Not just because I lived through being an agent and am now Arthur. But…everything I have. I have Eggsy, the sweetest man on the planet. He’s crazy and sometimes rash, but he is warm and generous and loves us both like parents.” Harry smiles as he thinks about all the times Eggsy has made Merlin’s blood boil. “And I have…I have you.”

“Harry,” Merlin says in astonishment, and Harry understands why. He’s not one for flowery speeches or declarations of love…but right now his heart is so full he cannot help it. 

“Do you realize how lucky we are, my love? We have each other. We’ve had each other for DECADES. I can only hope Eggsy and Tilde have a history as wonderful as ours.”

“I’ve watched ye die…I dinnae exactly wish that on anyone.”

“No, that part isn’t very enjoyable,” Harry admits. “But almost every time I’ve been hurt, I’ve opened my eyes and you have been by my side. You have stupidly loved me for years. I’m still not sure why.”

“Because I dinnae know what else to do,” Merlin says simply, shrugging. He takes Harry’s hands and kisses them. “I’ve loved ye since I met ye.”

“So many agents perish without hearing someone say that. They sacrifice their heart for their work. I thought I’d have to do that, but I have you.” Tears splash down from his good eye. “I’m so thankful for you, Merlin. I never could have lived this long without you. You do not know how many times I’ve been injured, or exhausted, and the only thing getting me through it all was the thought that I needed to get back to you. That you expected me to come home, and so I did. No matter what.”

“Harry.” Merlin’s bottom lip trembles a bit and he reaches up to cup Harry’s cheek. His thumb wipes Harry’s tears away.

“And you…I thought I’d lost you forever.” Harry briefly looks down at Merlin’s trousers, where Merlin’s skin ends and the metal begins. “How that happened…how you came home to me. I will never be able to wrap my mind around it.”

“We just need to accept it and be thankful,” Merlin whispers.

“I do not deserve you, and I know it. I just needed to tell you…tell you how much I love you, and how grateful I am for your love. I am vain, I am ridiculous…I am broken.” Merlin leans his head against Harry’s. “But you love me.”

“Aye…ye are not the only lucky one,” Merlin murmurs. He kisses Harry briefly. “Ye are vain, I notice nothing. Ye are ridiculous, I lose myself in facts and data. Ye are broken…” Merlin takes Harry’s hand and places it on the metal knee. “And so am I. Yet here we are.”

“Here we are…thank Christ.” Harry kisses him again. Not sexually, just sweetly, softly. The doorbell rings and they both jump. “I will get that.” Harry wipes at his face and stands up. Merlin stands as well.

“I love ye, Harry Hart, with every fiber of my being.” Merlin kisses him hard. “But if ye talk like this again and force me to show my emotions, it will not end well for ye.”

Harry grins and kisses Merlin’s neck. “Come get ready for dinner, my love.”

“Aye, in a moment.” They rub noses before Harry goes to the door.


End file.
